Remembrance
by J. Joy Granger
Summary: Harry is driven to complete the task Dumbledore gave him in HBP, he just doesn't quite know how to do it. Hermione and Ron move in to help, while many forces try to drive him back to Ginny. HG RHr
1. Chapter One: New Residents

Author's Note:

I've never written a fanfic before, but after reading many written by others, I have decided to give it a try. Ideas have been brewing a long time, so I hope you like it! As an aside, I was immensely disappointed to see on MuggleNet that Emerson & Crew did not think it likely that Harry and Ginny would get back together in Book 7. They seemed to think Harry had more important things to worry about, but to this I say "Ha!" To me, it seems that Ginny is very important. After all, Harry's best power is his ability to _love._ But, that's enough of my ranting; you'll be able to see my opinions in the story!

Oh yes, and I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.

**Chapter One: New Residents at Privet Drive**

Harry Potter looked at the front of Number Four, Privet Drive with a mixture of disgust and apprehension, but also with resolve. Despite the fact he was returning to the "home" he had loathed since he could remember, he had something on his side this time. Whether the Dursleys liked it or not, his friends were coming to help him live out his final few weeks at Privet Drive. With a sigh, Harry picked up Hedwig's cage and began to drag his heavy trunk into the house. He was unannounced, as the term had been let out a few days before term's end due to the tragic death of the beloved Headmaster. Still, Harry hoped the Dursleys might get over their disappointment in seeing him so early considering he would only be there a short time, for the last time, and also considering that he was only at Privet Drive for their protection in the first place.

Aunt Petunia shrieked as he strolled into the kitchen, shouted at Harry, and then asked why he was already there. "Does this mean you'll be leaving soon?" she asked almost hopefully, but with a trace of nervousness behind the façade. Harry realized she must know what might happen once his protection was gone.

"Yes, a few weeks are enough to give you protection; for awhile, anyway. I'm afraid you won't be too safe after I come of age, though. By the way, my friends Ron and Hermione will be arriving shortly, to help me cope with being here. I expect them to be treated with respect, as they are both of age and perfectly able to keep you in check." With that, Harry turned to go up to his room, ignoring Petunia's gaping mouth. He was interrupted by his fat cousin, Dudley, coming through the door.

"What are you doing here already?" Dudley asked, surprised.

"I might ask the same of you—what, did they finally kick you out of school?" Harry sneered.

Dudley muttered, "Just what do you know about it," and skulked away to watch some TV, making a stop at the refrigerator along the way.

"Apologize to my Dudders!" screamed Petunia. "He has such sensitive feelings, and he doesn't need you rubbing in his expulsion! As far as we know, you've been thrown out of _that _school, too…"

At this point, Harry decided to let the point drop, for the memory of why he had really left school was still too fresh. "I'll be in my room," he told his aunt, as he began to lug his trunk up the flight of stairs.

**

* * *

**

Later that afternoon, Harry was staring at the ceiling of his bedroom, thinking about Ginny, horcruxes, Dumbledore, Ginny, horcruxes, Sirius, Ginny, horcruxes, his parents, Ginny, and horcruxes. He had let Hedwig out and he obviously had no homework, so he was left lonely and with nothing left to do but dwell on his misery and the challenge that lay ahead of him.

His reverie was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell downstairs. He didn't trust the Dursleys to be civil, so he jumped up and went downstairs to greet Ron and Hermione. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see not only his two friends, but also Ron's mother, Molly Weasley.

"I won't pretend I was happy when I heard that Ron and Hermione expected to come here with you, Harry," Mrs. Weasley began, "but as I have been coerced into agreeing, I am here to speak with your, uh…relatives, and to make you all comfortable."

Molly then pushed past Harry into the hallway, at the end of which stood the sour-looking Dursleys. Ignoring the bulging vein in Vernon's purple face, Mrs. Weasley introduced herself and commenced to tell the Dursleys what her expectations for the treatment of the three magical teens were.

"I wouldn't expect you to feed them, of course, Ron here can eat about twice his weight most meals…so I'll be sending them baskets regularly." The Dursleys looked pleased at this, and Harry was relieved he wouldn't have to subject himself or his friends to their meager rations.

"Now, I'm just going to make sure Harry's room is made suitable for the three of them," finished Molly. Harry led them up to his room, where he had done nothing yet to unpack. "Hmm. Well, I don't know how I feel about Hermione being here with you two boys, but I guess we have no alternative. We'll have to bunk your beds on this side of the room and add another one over there," she said. With a swish of her wand, three beds appeared, two of them bunked.

"Then, let's see, you'll need a table and chairs to eat on, and a couch for comfort's sake. Hermione, I suppose you'd like some shelves for books and things, and we'll add another chest of drawers here at the end of your bed…" A few more flicks of the wand, and all the new items fit miraculously into the space of the smallest bedroom at Number Four, Privet Drive.

"Alright, you'll need some linens and plates and things, so here you go." She added neutral blue bedding to the bunks and a pretty light purple to Hermione's bed. Some dishes stacked themselves in a cupboard by the table, and with the final addition of a sink, Mrs. Weasley appeared satisfied.

"Okay, kids, I guess I'll leave you to get settled. If you don't write me once a day, remember I could easily reverse my decision about this! I'll leave a basket of food here for you and send some more tomorrow. I expect you to be home the fifteenth of July for the wedding, of course. Now, give me a hug and I'll leave you alone." After they gave her hugs, the three friends were left looking at each other with amazement.

"Well," said Harry, "welcome to Privet Drive. Thanks for staying with me. I can't imagine having to stay here by myself."

"Sure, mate, we wouldn't let you stay here alone to wallow in misery," said Ron.

"While we're here waiting, I thought we could look through these books I borrowed from the library at Hogwarts-McGonagall gave me permission to use it for the summer-we could try and find information to help us track down those Horcruxes," Hermione added.

"For once," said Harry, "I agree with you that we should try to find out as much as we can, but what happens when we get through these books? It won't take long with three of us working."

"I've taken care of that. I arranged for Dobby—"

"_You_ asked a house elf to do something for us?" interjected Ron.

"-to exchange books for us when we need more…Oh _don't _give me that look, Ron. Dobby is a paid house elf and I've offered to knit him some socks to pay for his help! Just because I disagree with the _enslavement_ of house elves doesn't mean I don't think we should make use of our resources!" Hermione retorted peevishly.

At this, Harry and Ron merely exchanged incredulous looks, keeping their mouths firmly shut about Hermione's decision to seemingly turn her back on all of her S.P.E.W. efforts.

"It's a good idea, 'Mione," Ron agreed. "Dobby was probably falling all over himself to help…Give us a book and we'll start looking."

After a solid hour of skimming through books in the hope of finding useful information, it became apparent that Harry's thoughts were not on the book in front of him. "What's on your mind, Harry?" asked Ron.

"Oh, I just feel like we're wasting our time looking through books not knowing what to look for. Oh, I know we need to do something to look for the Horcruxes," he added quickly, before Hermione could argue, "But I think maybe we need to do a bit more. Could be maybe start up the DA again? On a smaller scale, I mean, just us, Neville, Luna, and…Ginny…" The last name caused Ron and Hermione to glance at each other.

"Harry, I think that's a wonderful idea, maybe we could even meet at the Burrow or something," said Hermione. "But speaking of Ginny, what exactly happened between you two? She only said you'd broken up, but I can't imagine why you would. You both seemed so happy!"

"Hermione, I was the happiest I've ever been when I was dating Ginny, but I had to break up with her. As she said, it was the noble thing to do. She was not safe as long as she was with me. Voldemort would try to get to her because she was with me…I couldn't risk that!"

"Harry," said Ron quietly. "I hate to tell you this, mate, but everyone's in danger these days, not just those of us close to you. And I'm sure Hermione would agree with me when I say that I feel quite a bit safer with you around than not." Hermione nodded, patting Harry's hand, while Ron continued, "Mate, I think Ginny'd be safer with you. That's saying a lot coming from me! Anyway, You-Know-Who, alright V-V-Voldemort…(he shuddered) probably already knows you two dated. Snape and Malfoy will have told him, wouldn't they?"

"Yes, Harry. Ginny loves (this word caused Harry to jolt) you, and I know you care a great deal for her, as well. I think you'd both be much better off, and happier, if you were together," put in Hermione.

"Look, guys, I think we're just going to have to disagree about this. I don't know how she could possibly be safer close to me what with a maniac and his lunatic followers constantly after me. Let's just drop it. It's getting kind of late, and I'm hungry, so why don't we see what Mrs. Weasley has packed for us?"

"Hey, you know I never turn down food," Ron said, before ducking his head at Hermione's reproachful look. Still, Hermione pushed aside their books and took some of their new plates out of the cabinet. As they ate some of Mrs. Weasley's excellent cooking, they discussed some of the logistics involved in starting up the DA again. All three agreed that a better location was needed, something comparable to the Room of Requirement in its ability to adapt to the needs of a room full of people studying Defense.

Midway through the meal, an owl swooped in through the open window. He flew directly to Harry, sticking out his leg for him to untie a roll of parchment. Unrolling the letter, Harry read a summons to the reading of the will of Professor Albus Dumbledore, to be held the next morning at Hogwarts. He took a deep breath, and then said, "Well, I guess this is my opportunity to ask McGonagall whether we can return to Hogwarts every so often for DA."

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry this came so soon—we weren't expecting this yet!" cried Hermione.

"I wasn't expecting it at all. When Sirius died Dumbledore just told me later that he had left me everything. What could Dumbledore have had to give me?" wondered Harry.

"Well, let's hope it's something to help us find the Horcruxes," said Ron. "We need _something _to go on."

"I'm going to go for a walk, okay?" said Harry after he put his dishes in the sink.

"Alright, Harry, but please be careful!"

"Take your wand, Harry, who cares about the stupid rule," added Ron.


	2. Chapter 2: Where Do I Dress?

I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.

**Chapter Two: Where Do I Dress?**

After cleaning up, Hermione took her pajamas down the hall to change in the bathroom, thinking to herself that it was going to be a difficult adjustment living in a room with boys. She just hoped she didn't run into that awful Dursley boy while going down the hall…She had seen Dudley giving her some lustful looks when they had come in earlier. Hermione knew she wasn't terrible looking, especially since she had let Madam Pomfrey shrink her front teeth a bit and since she had begun using hair-calming potions, but she was not used to being looked at that way. Sure, Viktor Krum had liked her, but she though that was the exception to the rule. Hermione didn't care to impress anyone. Anyone, that is, except one of her best friends. _And I know how likely that is to happen,_ she thought to herself as she brushed her teeth scrupulously. She finished her nighttime ritual, then went back down the hall to continue her research.

* * *

While Hermione was in the bathroom, Ron took a good look at himself in the mirror. He was a little nervous having Hermione in the room. He had had a crush on her since he could remember, and he knew the time had come for him to make his move. Comforting Hermione while they both cried at Dumbledore's funeral had felt so good, yet he didn't know how it would work out for two friends to date. _I guess we can't fight any more than we already do._ He grinned. _But what will it do to Harry if we start dating? _He started undressing as the thoughts continued to swirl through his head. He had his pajama bottoms on and was just pulling a T-shirt over his head when the door opened.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" exclaimed Hermione. "I should have knocked!"

"It's alright, 'Mione," Ron said, getting the T-shirt on. Now that his head was visible, Hermione could see a bit of pink around the tips of his ears. "Are you ready to do some more research?"

Hermione laughed, never expecting to hear Ron say those words. "Of course I am!" she replied. She turned and walked to the table ahead of Ron, giving him the chance to admire the beautiful legs that extended below her pajama shorts and the long, silky brown hair that shone on her back. When she sat down, she flipped her hair over her shoulder so that Ron could admire the curve of her chest in her pink tank top. Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, she began to read, with a quill ready to take notes if needed.

_She's beautiful, _Ron thought. He surreptitiously pulled his chair closer to hers, and sat down. He sat there looking at her with his chin in his hand, waiting for her to notice. When she did glance up, it was her turn to blush.

"Why are you looking at me that way, Ron?" she asked a little breathlessly. Ron's body decided that instead of explaining verbally, he should try telling Hermione his feelings in another way. He leaned in and gave her a long kiss. When they broke apart, Hermione gave a soft, "Oh!" and then put her arms around his neck, whispering, "What took you so long, Ronald?" He laughed, before pulling her tight for another kiss. Before they let things get too out of hand, they moved over the couch, where they simply held one another and talked, waiting for Harry to come back.

* * *

Harry walked in a few hours later to see Ron and Hermione asleep on the couch, Ron's head in Hermione's lap. _That didn't take long,_ he said to himself. _Maybe I should go out more often._ But even as he was happy for his friends (he now felt no worries about the destruction of their friendship), he also felt a pang of loss. He could just imagine himself and Ginny in that position…But he mustn't think that way, or he would do something rash. He resolved to wake his friends instead.

* * *

With a shake of their shoulders, Ron and Hermione each woke with a start. "Oh! What time is it?" asked Hermione of Harry, while Ron gave him a sheepish grin.

"Is there anything you two want to tell me?" Harry asked.

"Oh, well, um…" began Hermione.

"You can't blame us, really," said Ron nervously, "you were gone quite awhile and, er, we decided to move things on a bit…"

Harry laughed. "Well, really, it's about time. Ron, please tell me _you_ were the one to actually make the move?"

Hermione, looking relieved, chimed in, "As if I would let it happen otherwise! Though I confess I was thinking it would never happen…" she nudged Ron in the ribs.

"Ow, what was that for? Wait, don't answer that," said Ron, who was clearly recalling some of the terrible things he'd done and said to Hermione over the last few years, though he hadn't meant them. "I suppose I deserved that."

Hermione grinned, gave him a peck on the lips, hugged Harry for his understanding, and promptly curled up in her new bed. Ron also went to bed with a dreamy look on his face, saying, "G'night, mate." Harry was left to ponder how to change his clothes now that there was a girl in the room. With a sigh, he picked up his pajamas and walked down the hall.


	3. Chapter 3: Inheritances

I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.

**Chapter Three: Inheritances**

The next morning, Harry awoke early, but not before Hermione. Despite the snores that were still coming from Ron's bed, she was already busy with her nose in a book and a cereal spoon in her hand. When she heard Harry drop down from his top bunk, she turned to get him a bowl as well, laughing to herself about his disheveled appearance.

"Here you go, Harry," she said as she handed him a bowl of cereal. "You need to hurry this morning, as you have to be to Hogwarts by eight o'clock."

"Come to think of it, how am I supposed to get there, since I don't have my apparition license yet?" Harry wondered.

"How many times do I have to tell you—?"

"—that you can't apparate inside Hogwarts grounds?" finished Harry. "Yes, Hermione, that lesson has sunk in, but some people apparate into Hogsmeade, and then walk up to the school." Hermione looked sheepish.

"I don't know, then," Hermione replied. "Maybe someone from the Order will come to take you."

At that moment, there was a loud pop that cause Ron to sit straight up in bed, cursing. Harry heard him mumble, "Why does it have to be so bloody loud at seven o'clock in the morning?"

Into their room had come the once again irrepressible Nymphadora Tonks, whose hair was dark blue and moon-colored silver. "In honor of Remus, of course," she said in explanation. "Well, Harry, I'm here to escort you up to Hogwarts…but it doesn't look like you're quite ready yet." Tonks continued, "I love what you've done with the place. I must say it's an improvement from the last time I saw it!"

"Thanks, said Harry, "er, Ron's mom did it for us. I'll just go change." Digging out a change of clothes from his trunk, he once again set off down the hall.

Meanwhile, Ron unceremoniously took Harry's place at the table, where he began eating the cereal Harry hadn't had the chance to touch. Ignoring the fact that Ron had just stolen Harry's food, Hermione turned to Tonks.

"Hi! You're looking so good, Tonks!"

"Thanks, Hermione. I'm so much happier now that Remus has come around. I'm a lot more useful to the Order now that all my powers have returned, too. Say, you look pretty good yourself!"

Hermione blushed. "Well, someone else we know has finally come around," she said slyly, with a look at Ron.

"What?" said a confused Ron. "Oh, you mean me? Well, you didn't do anything to move things on either, 'Mione."

"On the contrary, every move I made was carefully calculated to do just that," said Hermione smugly.

"Aha. So I see being together hasn't reduced the arguing," commented Tonks.

"Maybe not, but if he knows what is good for him, he'll give in a bit quicker than he used to," replied Hermione.

Harry returned to the room, signaling his readiness for departure. "So, Tonks," he asked, "are we apparating to Hogsmeade, then?"

"Right-oh. I'm supposed to take you side-along, but from what I hear you can manage pretty well on your own. Is it really true that you got both yourself and Dumbledore back to Hogsmeade the night of the battle?"

Harry nodded, while thinking to himself that he wished he had been able to keep Dumbledore safe _all_ night. _If only I didn't have that body bind curse on me! _

Moving on from that subject, he said, "Why don't you just 'guide' me for appearances' sake. That way if the Ministry questions us, we are within the law. Not that I much care anymore about being within the laws of the Ministry…"

"Oh, but Harry," cried Hermione, "even if you don't agree with the Ministry's policies—which I don't either, of course—you can't get yourself in trouble for doing unlicensed magic for a few more weeks!"

"Yes, Hermione, the thought had occurred to me that it would be rather a loss to have my wand snapped in half just a few weeks before I come of age," retorted Harry.

"Well, don't get upset with me for trying to help when you're just being—emotional!" Hermione replied, annoyed. She plopped down next to Ron, who had been deliberately ignoring the whole conversation while he shoveled down three bowls of cereal.

"Enough of this chitchat," interrupted Tonks. "It's time we were going. Here, Harry, grab on lightly…" and she extended her arm to Harry. With the familiar feeling of being sucked through a vacuum and a vague recollection of the 'three D's of Apparition,' Harry found himself in the middle of Hogsmeade's High Street.

* * *

"I'll walk you up to the Headmistress' office, Harry, and then wait down in the Entrance Hall," Tonks informed him.

"All right." Harry was feeling less than talkative at the prospect of talking about Dumbledore's death and asking McGonagall for help. Plus, he was annoyed with himself for being angry with Hermione, whom he knew was just trying to help. He and Tonks walked through Hogsmeade and the Hogwarts gates, up to the castle without speaking further. When they reached the gargoyle that stood as sentry in front of McGonagall's office, Harry looked at Tonks questioningly.

"Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus," she said, glancing at a slip of paper in her hand. The gargoyle slid aside, revealing a spiral staircase.

_Leave it to McGonagall to give the longest password ever,_ Harry thought, as he and Tonks began ascending the stairs. After knocking, Harry entered the surprisingly full room. Among the people gathered were the strange barman from the Hog's Head, Hagrid, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and, of course, McGonagall. Instinctively, Harry glanced at the portrait above McGonagall's head, where the portrait-Dumbledore appeared to still be sleeping. Noticing where his gaze had fallen, McGonagall informed Harry that the portrait would awaken a few hours following the reading of the will. "One of the reasons we're doing this so early," she confided.

"Well," McGonagall began to the group as a whole. "Now that Mr. Potter has joined us, I think we should get started."

With this announcement, a goblin (Harry assumed one from Gringotts) stood up from his seat in the corner of the room. Moving to the center of the assembled group, he unsealed a roll of parchment. Unrolling it, he began reading.

"This is the final will and testament of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. I, Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore, do vow its authenticity in the presence of one witness, the goblin Galog. To those present at the reading of this will, please know that while my body is now gone and my possessions will henceforth be scattered, my spirit lives on in those that follow and in all my portraits. I vow to remain as useful as possible with the use of these portraits, but also know that I trust those left behind to carry on the noble work. Now, the estate.

"To my brother, and only remaining relative, Aberforth, I leave 500,000 galleons." The barman from the Hog's Head nodes, and something in Harry's mind clicked, something he remembered Dumbledore saying before. Something to the effect of, "I know the local barmen."

"To Minerva McGonagall," the will continued, "and Rubeus Hagrid, I entrust the students and halls of Hogwarts. Though I myself do not own them, I consider them most precious, and wish you to protect and instruct them as best you might. As long as students wish to remain at Hogwarts, please teach them. Along with this heavy responsibility, I leave you each 250,000 galleons. Minerva, you are also to inherit all the objects in my office for your use, except the pensieve, which will be dispersed later." At the end of this long paragraph, Hagrid could be seen wiping his eyes with a large handkerchief. Even McGonagall seemed to have a tear in her eye, but hers came with a hard glint of determination.

Next, the letter spoke to the Weasleys. "To Arthur and Molly Weasley," I leave 500,000 galleons. Even if you do not like accepting it, I insist. You have sacrificed much for your biological and adopted family over the years, often allowing them to fight for the side of good despite the danger. Please accept this as a token of my gratitude." Mr. Weasley looked shocked to be given such a large sum of money, while Mrs. Weasley began crying with a mixture of disbelief, sadness, and even relief.

"And, finally," continued the will, "to my pupil and protégé, Harry Potter. Your task is probably the most difficult of all: I ask that you never give up in your determination to defeat Lord Voldemort, or as I like to call him, Tom Riddle. You still have a long journey ahead, but you have our faith behind you. I leave you several tools to help you along the way. First, the pensieve. You might find it useful to revisit certain things in your search for the answer. Next, I give you command of the Order of the Phoenix, as a fully-fledged member and its leader." This caused everyone in the room to sit up straighter, and more than one to look at Harry in disbelief. "To the rest of you, I expect an example of respect, trust, and obedience. In several situations which I cannot divulge, Harry's intuition and ability for leadership have equaled and even excelled my own. He has much to learn, of course, but I ask you all to help him."

Then the letter directed itself back to Harry. "Third, Harry, I give you use of my extensive library, which will deliver from midair any book desired. There is, of course, a complete index you will be receiving along with it. If I'm not mistaken, I think your friend Miss Granger will be most excited with _this _gift." Harry smiled to himself; this would be a good way to make up with Hermione after his display that morning.

"Next," read the goblin, "in addition to 1,000,000 galleons, you will inherit my highly resourceful, intelligent, and loyal friend, Fawkes. Do not be concerned that he will not accept you, for you have already more than demonstrated your capacity to have him as a pet; and furthermore, he has already communicated his approval of this arrangement.

"My final tool for you is actually a bit of advice: keep those you love and those who love _you _close in the time ahead. You will need their support, and they will probably be able to help you in some way. As to my previous request to keep certain items secret, I suggest that we amend that agreement for a few key individuals; namely, Professor McGonagall, Arthur Weasley, and Miss Weasley." Harry was dumbfounded by the last statement, for though the message was vague, he understood it to mean that Dumbledore wanted to share what he knew about the prophecy and the horcruxes with three more people.

As he though about this, the goblin finished reading the parchment. "This concludes the reading of the final will and testament of Albus P.W.B. Dumbledore. The items being passed on will automatically be transferred to the possession of their new owners, including any money, which will be deposited into the recipients' bank vaults at Gringotts. Any money, possessions, or any other property not named in the will is to be donated to charities such as the scholarship fund at Hogwarts. That is all." With those final words, the parchment burst into flames.

* * *

Harry remained behind as the other in the room slowly filtered out. After the last person had filed out, Professor McGonagall turned to Harry. "I take it you wish to speak to me?" she asked.

"Er, yes," Harry replied. "I wanted to ask you opinion on an idea Ron, Hermione, and I had about starting up the DA again."

"That Defense club you three began in fifth year? Go on," urged McGonagall.

"Well, like I said, we think it would be a good idea to restart it. No place is better for practice than the Room of Requirement, so we would like permission to return to Hogwarts once or twice a week, hopefully by portkey, since the younger ones can't yet apparate."

"How many people does this involve?" asked Professor McGonagall.

"Besides us three, it would be Ginny, Neville, and Luna. Plus, I thought Fred and George might be able to add something useful to the mix, what with their new Defense products and all," replied Harry.

"Hmm. Well, it would seem that those of you in the DA did score extremely well on your DADA exams; and what with You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters traipsing about, it wouldn't be a bad idea to be better prepared." She paused, appearing to think. "I would not be opposed to the reinstatement of the DA with you at its head, but I have several conditions. First, that in addition to those you mentioned, you will also extend invitations to all others in the sixth and seventh years to join. Unfortunately, this would probably have to exclude the Slytherins…but the others would receive much benefit from your tutelage." Harry thought a moment, and then nodded his head in agreement.

The Professor continued. "Second, there will be no entrance onto the Hogwarts grounds without a password. As much as I hate to say it, even students cannot all be trusted." Harry again nodded.

"Third and finally," she went on, "several members of the Order will not only escort the group to and from the castle, but they will also stand guard at the meetings. Does this all sound satisfactory?"

"Yes, Professor," said Harry. "I only have one more thing to ask. I think all members of the DA should be instated as full members of the Order of the Phoenix."

McGonagall looked at him closely, and then replied, "Potter, since you now are in charge of the Order, that appears to be your decision to make." After she said this, Harry could have sworn he saw a faint smile on her lips.

After figuring out the details of sending out letters, coordinating portkeys and locations, and setting meeting dates, Harry left the Headmistress' office to go and tell his friends the news.


	4. Chapter 4: The DA Returns

I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.

**Chapter Four: The DA Returns**

When Harry and Tonks apparated back to Privet Drive, they found Ron and Hermione once again doing research. They looked pretty comfortable together on the couch, making Harry suspect that Ron, at least, probably wasn't accomplishing much. _Still,_ Harry thought, _leave it to Hermione to continue researching even without any sort of direction. We need a brainwave,_ he thought.

Bringing himself back to the present, he said, "Hi guys."

"Hey, mate," Ron replied, looking up. Hermione also looked up at Harry, but merely looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

This caused Harry to pause, and then say, "I'm sorry for the way I acted this morning, Hermione. I know you are just trying to help me…both of you. Truce?"

Hermione beamed, and then nodded. "I forgive you, Harry."

With that statement, Tonks left. "Back to the Ministry!" she said.

At that point, Harry pulled a chair up close to the couch. "I have so much to tell you two!" he began. "Hermione, I think you'll be happy when you hear one of the things Dumbledore willed me." This proved correct, for when he told her about the library, she positively glowed.

"Ooh…" she cried, "Do you have the index yet?"

"Er, well, I haven't checked," Harry replied, "The will said everything would automatically be transferred to the new owners, so I suppose it must be here somewhere."

All three of them immediately began looking around the room for anything that might be new or different. Suddenly, Ron pointed to the bookcase, where a large, carved bowl and a huge leather bound volume had appeared.

"Isn't that the pensieve you told us about?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's Dumbledore's. Now I'll be able to show you those memories. And that book must be the index!" He grabbed it from the shelf and handed it over to Hermione, who began poring over it with wide, excited eyes. Another glance around the room revealed a stand—Harry recognized it to be Fawkes'—which now stood next to Hedwig's cage. "I guess Fawkes will be around, now, too," he said. "Do I just call him?" he wondered.

"I suppose," replied Ron. "Go on."

"Fawkes?" Harry called tentatively. "Will you come?"

A burst of fire alerted them to the presence of the flaming red phoenix, which appeared on his golden stand. He gave a soft note of greeting to the trio, while Harry reached over to rub his feathers. He found Fawkes' presence comforting, almost like he was Dumbledore himself.

After a few minutes, Harry resumed his story. When he reached the part about his being named Head of the Order, both Ron and Hermione gasped, sitting up a little straighter.

While Ron said "Cool," Hermione breathed, "Wow, Harry, Dumbledore must _really _have trusted you!"

"Yeah, but I was pretty surprised…so was everyone in the room. Oh I didn't tell you, Ron—your parents were there! Dumbledore left them a fair bit of gold." Harry left out telling how much he himself was given, and luckily, Ron looked pleased at the prospect of a little wealth. Obviously, inheriting gold was not as offensive as being given some by well-meaning friends.

"But I haven't told you the best part yet," Harry continued. "McGonagall agreed that we should start up the DA again, but she asked us to involve more people—all sixth and seventh years except the Slytherins, for obvious reasons. Then I asked her that all members of the DA be made members of the Order. She just told me it was my decision, since I'm Head now!"

"Wicked!" said Ron, who was clearly relishing the fact that now his parents couldn't refuse to allow him in the Order.

Hermione, who looked all at once triumphant, scared, and emboldened, said, "That's great, Harry!" She went on to ask, "So when will the DA meet? Will we tell everyone about the Order right off?"

"We sent off letters asking everybody to report to Hogwarts tomorrow at 10:00 a.m.," Harry replied. "Obviously, we couldn't tell them what is going on in a letter that may be intercepted, so we'll fill in the pieces tomorrow. I intend to tell them about the Order, give them a chance to weigh the options, and then decide either way. Those who decide to join us will take a vow of secrecy, and then be inducted into the Order. We'll have to have a full meeting of the Order, including the new recruits, in a few days. The first thing we'll work on at the DA meeting will be brushing up on our Patronus charms…we'll have to start sending messages that way…"

As Harry said all this, he acted and sounded so much like the commander of a real army that Ron and Hermione were somewhat in awe. They were seeing a side of Harry that had never before been fully revealed, and they felt almost comforted by it. The day wore on, and the three friends went about the business of researching and planning. Hermione made good use of the new library, while Harry continued to make plans for the DA. All the while, the remaining horcruxes flitted through his mind, but he pushed them away. Thinking of them was of no use without finding the mysterious R.A.B. and without further evaluation of the hints Harry believed must be contained in the memories Dumbledore had obtained.

The following morning, Tonks arrived once again to escort Harry, Ron, and Hermione to the castle. They left earlier than the arranged meeting time so they could meet with Professor McGonagall, set up a password, and arrange the room. Other members of the Order—Kingsley Shacklebolt, Remus Lupin, and Bill Weasley—had been sent to prearranged portkey stations to bring the others to the meeting.

When the hour came and everyone had made their way to the once again perfectly outfitted Room of Requirement, Harry moved to the front. Almost immediately, silence fell. Every one of the assembled sixth and seventh years, Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs alike gave Harry their full attention. Harry stood there for a minute, and then began speaking.

"Most of you are probably confused as to why we are here, but before I explain, I need you all to sign this sheet (he held up a long sheet of parchment) as it goes around. Before you sign, though, understand that you are vowing secrecy about what I will soon tell you. You are committed to nothing, remember, except silence. Still, I understand that this might be uncomfortable for some of you, especially considering what happened to someone else who signed a sheet of paper and then went back on her word." He paused, looking around the room. Many people nodded in remembrance of what had happened when Marietta Edgecombe snitched on the DA. Several pairs of eyes were on Hermione, who blushed.

Harry resumed, "I understand if you'd like to leave, but now is the time you must decide." He skipped a beat, waiting for anyone to make a move towards the door. Whether it was because they were all very brave or because they were just simply curious to find out what "the Chosen One" would do next, every person remained in the room.

"Okay, I'll pass this around to sign, then," said Harry. After all had signed their names, Harry got down to the purpose of the meeting.

"Today," he began, "we have come to reform the DA—Dumbledore's Army, also known as the Defense Association. For those of you unfamiliar with this, it was a group my friends and I started in our fifth year to combat our lack of education in the Defense department. In these times, the side of good needs as many fighters as we can get, and so now the DA is more important than ever. The members of the new DA will join the members of an elite group of defense called the Order of the Phoenix. This group, under the direction of the late Professor Dumbledore, has been in existence since the first war against Lord Voldemort."

Many members of the crowd had never heard about the Order, and so were quite shocked. The few who knew, looked proud to be invited to take part.

While this news sunk in, Harry continued, "This will be extremely dangerous. Unfortunately, because the Order is so elite, and is often on the front lines of battle with Voldemort and his Death Eaters, injury is highly likely and death could be imminent. Still, I have faith in you, as does new Headmistress McGonagall, who is the one who actually asked me to include all of you. It is a noble fight, and one to which I have bound myself. Now, I'd like to see who's with me."

With his last statement made, Fred and George Weasley, some of the oldest in the room besides the Order guards and the friends they brought along, started a slow clap. This rapidly progressed into applause, as many stood and Harry's two closest friends rushed up to stand beside him. Harry looked into the faces of his friends, then out into the crowd, where he saw a familiar pair of eyes looking at him. There was Ginny, off to the side in the front row, her eyes sparkling with emotion. Harry hadn't realized how hard it would be to be in her presence again, so after a brief moment of eye contact, he had to look away. She had too many questions in her eyes.

"Whew," Harry said once the clapping died down. "Thank you for your support. If everyone is ready, we can begin taking the oath of membership, individually. As we do this, your name will be written on the roll of the Order, where it will remain until you are either slain or you betray us."

At this point, Harry was interrupted by the raised hand of one brave Hufflepuff. Harry gave the girl his attention, and she asked, "Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude, but I was just noticing that there isn't a single Slytherin here. I was wondering why they weren't included in this—the nice ones, anyway."

This question caused many in the room to look at the girl skeptically. A few pointed at her, whispering behind their hands to their neighbors. But Harry, ignoring the muttering, looked at her with interest.

"You know," he said, "it is funny that you should ask that question. Considering the times, the Sorting hat has been quite right in saying that the houses of Hogwarts need to unite to have any hope of victory. I don't have much hope for any in my class, but if there _is_ an honest Slytherin in the sixth or seventh years whom you think might like to join our side, I would be quite interested to hear their names. I might be able to make arrangements to meet with others; find out where they stand, you know."

"There are a couple of nice ones in our class," the girl said, looking at her fellow sixth years for support. "Connor and Langdon are even nice to us Hufflepuffs, when the other Slytherins aren't around." Several of the Hufflepuffs nodded in agreement, and even Ginny and Colin Creevey seemed to affirm it.

"All right," conceded Harry, "if that's true, I'll see what I can do about contacting them after the meeting. Right now, if everyone's ready, I'd like to get started. Are there any more questions?"

Seeing none, he called the first person forward to give the oath. As each person swore to uphold the Order and to keep its secrets vigilantly, a burst of pure white light erupted from their wand tip, writing their name in illuminated letters onto a scroll at the front of the room.

After the last person had been written on the roll, Harry himself stood up to take his oath as leader.

"I, Harry James Potter, do hereby swear my loyalty to the Order of the Phoenix and the cause of good. I promise to uphold the light, and to do all I can to see the powers of darkness defeated."

As his name glowed on the scroll, Fawkes burst in. He dove at the parchment, appearing to devour it in fire. For a moment, the bird was distinguishable among the flames, but in the next second he and the parchment dissolved into fire.

After the room returned to normal, Harry made one more announcement. "I think that is enough for one day, but I'd like you all to return in two days' time. Please be prepared to start some intense training, which will include learning to communicate with Patronuses. If you have learned the charm already and are of age, go ahead and practice so you'll be ready to move on to the next step. We will need the help of the experienced to teach the others. Now, your escorts, who are older members of the Order, will portkey you to your destinations.

When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were back at Privet Drive awhile later, conversation began flowing.

"So Harry," said Ron, "what are you going to do about the Slytherins?" He chortled a little, obviously thinking that asking Slytherins to join the DA was about as smart as petting a cobra.

"Ron, don't laugh!" cried Hermione, "Harry was right to remind us of the Sorting Hat! We probably _should _have invited some of the Slytherins to join us…"

Harry thought a moment, and then said, "Actually, Ron, I was thinking of putting you on this assignment."

At this statement, Ron looked both confused and a little amused at the thought that Harry would give _him _an assignment. _But then,_ he thought, _I guess that's what Hermione and I are here for._ "Oh?" he asked aloud.

"Yes," replied Harry. "I was hoping to maybe have you get in touch with the two Slytherins that Hufflepuff girl mentioned. I mean, seriously, how would it look for _me_ to go scouting out some Slytherins? Even if these two are good guys, their people are bound to notice if we seek them out."

"You think it will be better for me, a blood traitor, to do it?" asked Ron doubtfully.

"Well, some better than me, anyway. Would you think about it?"

"Oh, Ron, do!" urged Hermione.

"Of course I'll try, mate. What could come of _asking _the Slytherins if they'd like to turn to the side of good?" Then he muttered, "I mean, You-Know-Who, V-Voldemort, could just come after us, blast our brains out…"

"Great, I'm glad you'll try." Harry said, smiling.


	5. Chapter 5: A Meeting of the Order

I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.

**Chapter Five: A Meeting of the Order**

Several more meetings of the DA brought them to mid-July. There was much improvement in all the members' defense skills, and by now every person was fully proficient at communicating through their patronuses. This made communication about the meetings and Order activity much safer. Finally, Harry was able to pull the whole Order together for a meeting. A new Fidelius Charm was performed at Headquarters with Harry as Secret Keeper, so each member of the Order could access 12 Grimmauld Place for the meeting.

As predicted, many adult members of the Order were confused and not too happy to have many young students join their ranks, with Harry as its leader, to boot. Molly Weasley was naturally unhappy seeing both of her youngest children join the Order, but since she had known about it before the meeting, she had time to get used to the idea. Others took a little more persuasion. A long speech from Professor McGonagall finally convinced everyone that this was exactly what Dumbledore had wanted.

Once everyone was on board, Harry made a few assignments. "Remus, I don't think it best to have you return to the werewolves right now. I'd like for you, and Tonks if she's willing, to move in here at Headquarters. Some improvements must be made, including cleaning out the attic and other spaces where Dark objects might still reside. I'll talk to you more about specifics, later."

"Next," Harry continued, "I'd like to tighten up our search for Snape and Malfoy. I don't particularly think Malfoy is too dangerous, considering he couldn't bring himself to actually kill Dumbledore, as he was originally supposed to. Still, we know Voldemort is bound to be angry with him, so he might be desperate enough to do something that would get him back into his good graces. Snape is, of course, dangerous. He betrayed the Order of the Phoenix and the side of good by killing Dumbledore."

"Harry?" questioned Hermione.

"Yes?"

"Don't get me wrong, but how do we _know _Snape betrayed the Order, and wasn't simply acting on Dumbledore's orders?"

First of all, Harry couldn't believe that after all that had happened over the last month or so, Hermione still didn't believe that Snape was rotten. _Damn, she is persistent!_ He thought. Secondly, he was annoyed she had just questioned him in front of the entire Order, when she easily could have asked this question at another time. Hence, he barely managed, through gritted teeth, and in not-quite-polite tones, to ask, "What, precisely, are we expected to think, when he kills the leader of this organization?"

"Harry," put in Professor McGonagall, "I am also quite upset at Professor Snape, but maybe we do have him wrong. Dumbledore always did trust him, and hinted he had a very strong reason to do so. Maybe we should check the roll of the Order—remember, a member's name is taken off in the event of death or betrayal. If Snape's name is gone, then we'll know he has turned traitor."

"Well, I'm inclined to think we won't find his name there, but I suppose there's no harm in looking," said Harry. He called Fawkes into the room and asked him to produce the roll of names. He began perusing it while the whole room waited anxiously. He himself received the surprise of his life when there, about a quarter of the way down the scroll, was plainly written the name "Severus Snape."

* * *

For a minute, dead silence encompassed the room. Then, chatter broke out. Harry, meanwhile, continued to stare at the parchment, while his friends looked at him nervously.

After a couple minutes of deep thinking, Harry faced the Order. "This evidence seems to suggest that we change direction. Obviously, there is something that went on between Snape and Dumbledore that we don't know. I still would like to continue our search for Snape—he has a lot of explaining to do. Kingsley and Tonks, and those others of you in the Ministry, this shall be your task, since your regular work gives you a cover. Professor McGonagall, I would like you to assist when you can, because as Snape's colleague, you probably know more about him than the rest of us."

"The final order of business for this meeting is a report from Ron Weasley, one of the new Order members, who will give a report on the DA's progress." At this point, Harry switched places with his best friend. Ron's skin had a green tinge to match his nerves at speaking before such a large group comprising of mostly adults, but he looked straight into Hermione's eyes to steady himself. Finally, he was able to glance at other people around the room, including his parents, who looked both proud of and nervous for him.

He began, "A few weeks ago, Harry approached Professor McGonagall with the idea to restart an organization we began in the fifth year—a defense club called the DA. The club was formed to give its members a stronger background in Defense, and an opportunity to actually practice it. While we didn't reform to combat an idiot teacher from the Ministry, we did reform to combat the growing evil the Wizarding world faces." Ron had the full room's attention, and frankly, even Harry was impressed. He had had no idea Ron had this in him. Hermione, however, looked immensely proud, and Harry had a feeling that she had been coaching Ron for this.

Ron resumed after taking a big breath, looking slightly less nervous. "After the professor agreed to let us start again and also to allow its members to join the Order, all that was left for the planning stage was to get in touch with the eligible sixth and seventh years. We also chose to include a few older people, but decided to exclude the Slytherin students. However, at our first meeting of the DA, Johanna Jones of Hufflepuff asked us to reconsider this exclusion in a few select cases. Figuring that she could be right, we contacted a few people who were thought could possibly be on our side. Unfortunately, none of the Slytherins we talked to felt like they could openly join our side, because of their families and friends. Still, they expressed interest in our cause, and promised to help us if they could. They even allowed us to give them oaths of secrecy concerning what we had talked about."

One of the adults interrupted here. "Who were the Slytherins you contacted?"

"We talked to Philip Connor and Tom Langdon, both upcoming sixth years at Hogwarts. Their families aren't pureblood, but seem pretty loyal to You-Know-Who. Probably been threatened by the Death Eaters a few times…" said Ron. "So, anyway, we tried on that front."

"Since then, we've been holding regular meetings of the DA. We have learned several important spells and shields, and most importantly, we have all mastered our Patronus charms so we can communicate with all of you."

That concluded Ron's report, so Harry stood up again. "If there is no other business, I would like everyone in turn to do a quick introduction and a demonstration of their Patronus for future recognition." When no one said anything, Harry said, "All right, I'll begin by demonstrating my Patronus."

Soon, a silver stag erupted from his wand. Next, Ron showed his bear, and then Hermione gave her sleek otter his turn. On around the room, everyone introduced him or herself and showed his or her Patronus form. When all had spoken, Harry adjourned the meeting.

* * *

When most of the Order members had filed out of the room and left the house, Harry turned to the few who waited. First, he needed to talk to Lupin and Tonks about Grimmauld Place.

Lupin began speaking first. "Harry, are you sure you want me to live here? I don't want to be any trouble or get in the way of the Order or anything…though I do admit I'm none too happy to be getting away from the werewolves…"

"Don't be silly, Remus," replied Harry. "Your staying here will actually benefit the Order, and me, because if you live here you'll have to do some cleaning up. What the Weasleys did two summers ago was mostly temporary work, and there is still too much to be done. Like I mentioned, the attic still needs cleaning out, as do many other rooms in here."

"All right, well I will accept in that case," said Remus, putting his arm around Tonks. "And actually, your asking Tonks to stay here as well is quite convenient. We were meaning to tell you this, but we've decided to get married sooner rather than later."

"Really?" asked Harry, "That's great!" The others still around joined him in the congratulations. Ginny, Hermione, and Mrs. Weasley were all particularly excited to see if Tonks had a ring. When they asked, Tonks was eager to take the ring, which she had been hiding in her pocket, and put it on her hand where it belonged.

"So," asked Mrs. Weasley, "when will you be getting married, sooner rather than later?"

"Well," said Tonks, "we haven't quite decided. "We were thinking about just slipping into the Ministry sometime and doing it there…"

"Oh, goodness, you mustn't do any such thing," replied Molly. "Why don't you join Bill and Fleur in their ceremony at our home?"

Harry privately thought that maybe this wasn't such a good idea, considering Fleur, so he was much surprised when Fleur acquiesced to the plan. "Zat would be a wonderful idea, Tonks; we would be such beautiful brides togezzer."

Tonks also looked surprised to have Fleur make such a generous offer, but then, she had really changed since Bill's attack. "That is so nice of you, Fleur, and you too, Molly. If Remus and Bill agree, I think it's a great idea!"

Of course, Remus and Bill were ready to agree with whatever their brides wanted, so it was set. The double wedding was approaching in only a week, so the girls made plans to go shopping for Tonks' wedding gown and for bridesmaid gowns for Ginny and Hermione, who would now be added to the bridal party. Amazingly, Harry found himself being dragged into the affair as Remus' best man.

"Harry, I would be so pleased if you would agree to be my best man," Remus had said. "Your father and godfather were my best friends, and I cannot think of anyone more suitable to take their place."

Harry was quite touched, and agreed to do the job.

All the wedding talk brought Mrs. Weasley to the task of reminding the three friends that they would need to take a break from their search in just a few days to join the crowd at the Weasley house for wedding festivities. There is so much going on in the few days leading up to the wedding, you know, parties and showers and the like…why don't you all just come on Wednesday?"

Harry and Ron agreed reluctantly, while Hermione, who was much more excited than they to be in the middle of wedding preparations, agreed enthusiastically.

The time finally came for everyone except Tonks and Remus to leave Headquarters, but all left with the security (or as much security as they could have in those troubled times) of seeing each other again very soon.


	6. Chapter 6: Of Laughter and Tears

I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.

Author's Note: I just wanted to thank all the people who have reviewed my story so far. I know it takes a certain amount of commitment to invest time into a story, even one that is so far pretty short. It especially takes time to submit reviews, and they are much appreciated. I hope everyone continues to enjoy the story. I have to say that this is probably my favorite chapter so far. :)

**Chapter Six: Of Laughter and Tears**

On Wednesday of the following week, Harry, Ron, and Hermione packed their things for a few days' stay at the Burrow. Lots of wedding festivities were awaiting them in the next couple of days, but today was to be the calm before the storm. As they arrived, though, and saw the chaos that encompassed the Weasley home, Harry doubted there would be much calm. He and Ron moved into the old room underneath the ghoul along with Charlie, while Fred and George moved back into their old room with Bill. Ginny, Hermione, and Fleur, along with her sister Gabrielle, who hadn't yet arrived, would be crammed into one room together. Harry suspected that the room had had some magical alteration, like the room at Privet Drive, to make it more accommodating to the three girls. The other room in the house, besides Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's, was given to Tonks and Remus, who had at first objected to taking up space in the cramped house, but had eventually given in because of the convenience to the wedding plans.

Despite the messy arrivals of the houseguests, all the friends were able to make the most of being back together again. In fact, things settled down fairly rapidly, and pretty soon only Mrs. Weasley was left running around frantically. The others gathered in the comfortable living room for games of chess and exploding snap. Eventually, the warm outdoors beckoned, so most of the group trooped out to play Quidditch. Tonks, Remus, and Gabrielle hadn't yet arrived, Fleur just wanted to watch, and Hermione only consented to play because if she didn't the game would be uneven.

Harry and Charlie, would, of course, play opposing seekers, while the beating skills of Fred and George were split in two. Joining Harry and Fred were Ron as Keeper and Hermione as Chaser. On the other team with Charlie and George were Bill as Keeper and Ginny as Chaser. All in all, the talent was pretty even on both sides, especially with the amended rule that in addition to their regular duties, the seekers and beaters could also try to score. This helped poor Hermione out tremendously. She could throw straight, but was quite afraid of flying faster than she needed. Paired alone against Ginny, she wouldn't have a chance in the world.

As could be imagined, the game grew rowdy. With no referee and only Fleur spectating, the plays only got rougher and rougher. When anything came into question, Fleur quickly sided with Bill's team. Still, the Weasleys, Harry, and Hermione managed to keep it mostly friendly. Everyone was, for the most part, at least encouraging to their teammates. Actually, Ron was so encouraging of Hermione's feeble attempts it was almost sickening. Even so, Hermione seemed to gain her confidence by it bit by bit, and by the end of the game she even scored a couple of times. To Bill's credit as the defending Keeper, he had never played on the House team, and he was at the times of Hermione's goals being heavily distracted by Fleur blowing him kisses from the ground.

The game was decently close a couple of hours later, with Ginny's scoring ability bringing her team to a small lead. When Harry and Charlie saw the snitch and made dives for it, the game was still quite up for grabs. Charlie was closer, but Harry had a much faster broom. When he snagged the snitch a half-second before Charlie, both sides cheered. When they alighted back on the ground, the seekers shook hands, and Charlie patted Harry on the back.

Meanwhile, George and Ginny, who were still up in the air, were secretly conversing. George finally handed Ginny his beating club and the struggling bludger he had caught. Covertly, Ginny took aim, and sent the wriggly ball straight at Harry's backside. When it collided, Harry was caught unawares and sent flying. He quickly regained his footing, and then turned around with his wand facing the perpetrator. Clearly, he thought he was being attacked by something more sinister than a 5 foot 3 inch young lady with flaming red hair. It was a likely presumption considering the times. When he figured out it had been Ginny who landed him sprawling, he lowered his wand.

"What the _hell_ was that for?" he yelled.

"Oh, I don't know, I thought I'd let you know you're being an ass," responded Ginny coolly. She had now landed and was gazing intently at her fingernails. When the others realized what happened and had guessed what was about to, they slunk away into the house for refreshments. Hermione was looking back at Harry and Ginny anxiously, while Ron ushered her away, muttering, "Isn't this what we wanted?"

Harry asked, "Why, exactly, am I being an ass?"

"I should _think_ that's quite obvious," retorted Ginny, her anger flaring up temporarily. She gathered herself, and then said calmly, "You should not have broken up with me, Harry. You were happy with me, for the first time in a long time, and you can't seem to allow yourself that…"

"Ginny, you know I can't just let myself be with you when I have a murderer to track down. There's so much you don't know…that I can't tell you, because if I did you would be even more of a target than you already are, for going out with me just that short time. I wish it had been longer, but there's just too much I have to do now, alone."

"Ron and Hermione are with you!"

"Yeah, well, I can't really stop them, can I? They've been with me the whole time. Plus, they're of age—I can't get anyone else to stop them, either."

"Oh, that _hurts _Harry! Haven't I supported you, too? I've loved you the longest time, and beyond that, I've _helped _you. I was there in the Department of Mysteries, Harry, and I was useful! Besides that, do you think I'm not just as capable as Ron and Hermione to join you in this—whatever you're doing—and just as stubborn, if not more? Let me go with you, I want to help." By the end of this, Ginny had tears rolling down her face. Her anger was mostly dissolved, but now she was feeling hurt and love and compassion all at once.

"Ginny," Harry said quietly and intensely, "You don't know what you're asking. There are things I have to do now, outside Hogwarts. Dangerous things. Ron and Hermione know, and have committed themselves to helping me, but I can't endanger you in that way. I—I love you too much."

Ginny placed a hand on either side of Harry's face, and looked intently into his emerald eyes with her caramel-colored ones. "Harry, what you just said means so much to me, and I know it was hard. Because I love you, too, I can't let us go on like this. You need to tell me what is going on, and you need to trust that I will stand by you."

"Oh, Ginny," Harry sighed. "I know you're right. I suppose this is what Dumbledore was trying to tell me in his will. Ron and Hermione, too. It's just so hard, but I'll tell you." He looked straight into her eyes with tears in his own at the thought of what he was going to do to her innocence by telling her everything. But then, she wasn't so innocent after all. As she had said over a year ago, who else among his friends also knew what it was like to be around Voldemort, inside his mind, possessed?

With these thoughts in his mind, he resolved not to soften the facts. Now was her chance to desert him, if she wanted.

He began his story. "The first thing you need to know is that I know what was contained in that prophecy Voldemort was after in the Ministry—the one that smashed." At her look of questioning, he explained, "The person to whom it was told, Dumbledore, was able to repeat it to me. We don't believe that Voldemort knows its full contents; we just know that hearing part of it is what made him come after me as a baby. It could be disastrous if Voldemort were to hear the whole thing. That's why I've told so few people. Dumbledore allowed me to tell Ron and Hermione last year, but now he's told me in his will to tell a few other people: Professor McGonagall, your parents, and you. I wanted to ignore his wishes and not tell you, but it seems now that I should."

"So what does it say?" Ginny asked, trying not to sound too pushy.

"Well, I think it would be best to show you. _Accio pensieve!_ The silver bowl came out of Ron's window on the top floor and floated down to the couple, who were now sitting in the middle of the field where they had played Quidditch. Using his wand to prod the silvery substance in the bowl, Harry brought the memory of Trelawney telling the prophecy to life once more. As Ginny listened and watched, the look of intrigue on her face sunk into a frown.

When the memory had faded, she looked at Harry with a brow lifted quizzically. "So all this 'Chosen One' rubbish is true?" she inquired. "Not that it was such a brilliant thought or anything. It has always been pretty obvious that you're the one to do Voldemort in…"

"Has it, really?" asked Harry, "Because I was under the impression that I've always been running for my life when I meet dear old Tom. Still, this prophecy does seem to indicate that it has to be me if anyone. Dumbledore did make it clear, though, that I don't _have _to fulfill the prophecy and go after Voldemort. It will only be fulfilled because I _choose_ to seek him of my own will, not Fate's."

"Okay, so what is our course of action?" asked Ginny.

"Here's where the next, and most frightening part comes in. This isn't very pleasant, but you wanted to know…"

"Yes, I do."

"Well, over the years, Voldemort has attempted to find ways to make himself immortal. Through a large bit of research, Dumbledore found out how he was doing this." He hesitated. "To make a long story short, he's been splitting his soul and putting the pieces into objects of value to him, so that if he is ever defeated, like when I was a baby, he has the power to come back." Ginny gasped. "These objects are called horcruxes, and they're only made by committing the worst Dark Magic, by killing. Ginny, the diary was a horcrux, and Voldemort was using you to regain that bit of his soul."

"But that was destroyed, wasn't it?" she asked, trembling.

"Yes," he reassured her, taking her hands. "I destroyed that horcrux, one piece of his soul, with the basilisk's fang. But Ginny, there are more of them out there. It was Dumbledore's guess—a well educated one—that Voldemort's goal would be to have his soul split into seven pieces. Meaning that besides the piece inside him, there would be six horcruxes. I got rid of one, and so did Dumbledore. On the night he died, we were going after another one. We found what we thought was a horcrux, but it wasn't until after Dumbledore died that I realized it was a fake. Someone else got to it before us. So, we still need to find it, plus three others and Voldemort himself."

"Whew," said Ginny. "That's quite a burden, Harry. But I want you to know that hearing this, especially the part about the diary, has made me even more determined to help you." Harry sighed, but had to resign himself. "I know you're concerned about my safety, but I can take care of myself. Even if I fail, I know I can count on you. I'm safer with you than not, Harry, and that is the truth. You are getting stronger every day; it's pretty obvious. Voldemort really doesn't know who he's up against. But wait, maybe he does, that's why he's so scared of you." Harry had to grin at this.

"But I'm curious about one thing," Ginny continued. "The prophecy mentioned that you 'have a power the Dark Lord knows not.' What is that, do you think?"

"Seriously? It's rather simple," Harry replied casually. Then, with a fierce look, he told her, "Love." With that, he closed the space between them, kissing her hard.

* * *

Some while later, Harry pulled away. "Ginny, we need to stop."

"Why?" she groaned, "We're having such fun!" She grinned up at him from the ground, where her red hair was spread out around her with bits of grass stuck in it.

"Well, considering we're within full sight of your house, wherein reside five of your six brothers, I don't think it is such a good idea to keep going with this. As much as I'd like to, of course." He grinned down at her, and she reached up and tousled his already messy hair.

"Oh, I suppose you're right," she groaned, trying to get out from underneath his arms. "Come on, help me up. We'll have to continue this later."

After a quick grooming session, they walked back into the house hand in hand. For some reason, their entrance was greeted by cheers. Hermione rushed over to tell them how happy she was that they had gotten back together, Fred and George clapped him on the back, and Ron said in a choky sort of voice that he was glad. Through all this, Harry and Ginny glanced at each other as if thinking, _were they watching us or something? _


	7. Chapter 7: A Day in Muggle London

I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.

Note: Sorry for the long wait, but hope it's worth it!

**Chapter Seven: A Day in Muggle London**

Thursday morning dawned too early for Harry and Ron. Ginny came in at about eight, smacking Ron in the head to wake him, then moved over to Harry to awaken him in a decidedly different manner. When he felt her lips exploring his mouth, face, and neck, his hand automatically drew her head down. His lips met hers, pulling her in deeper. After awhile, his eyes still closed, he pulled her body down next to him. He put his arm over her back, playing with her long, soft hair. Then, he made every sign for falling back to sleep. Ginny giggled, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Come on, Harry. I must be more interesting than that."

"Mmm…" Harry mumbled something incoherently, and then opened his eyes blearily.

Meanwhile, Ron was glaring at them from over on his bright, orange bed. "Just because I approve of your relationship does not mean I want to see it on display first thing in the morning!" he said with a bit of a growl.

"Oh, shut up, Ron," said Ginny, who was still lavishing attention on Harry, "Go find Hermione, that'll make you feel better."

After shooting one more glare in the direction of Harry's bed, Ron trooped out of the room. Harry and Ginny went back to their morning greeting.

"You kind of need a breath mint," Ginny informed Harry once Ron had gone.

"Oh?" asked Harry. He then tried his best to smother Ginny in his morning breath. "If I'm not mistaken, I think you're the one who decided to try _that _method of robbing me of my sleep…"

"Yes, well, I must say is has its appeal," said Ginny slyly, tickling his muscular bare chest. But as Harry ducked in for more kisses, she wrinkled her nose and pushed him away. "Now, now, Harry," she rebuked as he pouted, "No more until you've showered and brushed your teeth. After that _maybe_ we can escape Mum to do a bit more snogging."

"Tease," Harry accused, grumbling. Nevertheless, he dragged out of bed, grabbed some clothes, and headed off to the shower.

About ten minutes later, he appeared at the breakfast table in muggle attire. Dudley's hand me downs looked so awful on him that Ginny turned to her mother and pleaded, "Oh, Mum, look at him. You have to let us go get him some new clothes today, he looks terrible in those!"

"Gee, you sure know how to make a guy feel good in the morning," said Harry. "But actually, I was hoping you _would_ take me shopping—I'm sure you have better taste in clothing than I do."

"Ooh, let's all go!" cried Hermione, looking excitedly at Ron.

"I just don't know, kids, it isn't very safe to go out these days, and I need your help around here…"

"Oh, come on, Mum," wheedled Ginny. "We'll be back in plenty of time to help set up for the parties tonight. Think about it, if we don't go, Harry will have to go to the stag party tonight dressed in _these._" She pointed distastefully at Harry's clothes. "And, quite possibly, he would never have the chance to go shopping again. He could end up defeating Voldemort in those. Think about it, he could go down in history as the worst-dressed hero to ever save us all!"

In spite of herself, Mrs. Weasley had to chuckle. "Oh, I suppose it _is _almost his birthday. I'd prefer to have an adult go with you, though. Let's see, Bill and Remus and Tonks are too busy, how about Moody?"

The four teenagers raised their eyebrows in horror at the thought of Mad-Eye-Moody, the scary old auror taking them shopping.

"Or," said Ginny, "How about Charlie?" When she said his name he glanced up from his copy of the 'Prophet,' behind which he had been ignoring their conversation.

"Huh?" he asked.

Ginny immediately pranced over, giving him a huge hug. "Charlie, don't you want to escort your favorite sister and her closest friends on a little shopping excursion?"

"Uh, not particularly," he replied.

"Please!" she begged, "You've been positively bored stiff with all this wedding garbage anyway…You'd have lots more fun with us cool kids." She winked conspiratorially at her friends.

Charlie sighed, and then glanced over at his mother, who was watching the brother/sister interaction with amusement. "Any chance of my getting out of this?" he asked pleadingly.

"Nope," Molly replied.

"Better resign yourself, mate," put in Ron. "These girls are relentless when shopping is involved." He put his arm around Hermione affectionately.

"It's a girl's favorite sport!" chirped Ginny. Pulling Charlie out of his seat, and Harry out of his, she dragged them both over to the fireplace. "Coming Ron, Hermione?"

After assurances to Mrs. Weasley, all five of them flooed to the now quite dismal Diagon Alley. Many of the shops were now boarded up, while others were pasted over with 'Wanted' posters. Only one shop on the entire street looked entirely upbeat: quite predictably, the Weasley twins' joke shop.

When they emerged on the other side of the fireplace, Harry said, "Wouldn't it be better to go into Muggle London for this sort of thing?"

"Now you're talking," said Ginny. "Any stops need to be made here before we step out?"

Hermione looked longingly at the bookstore, but shook her head. "I suppose we'd all better get some clothes. Maybe we should get some dark outfits for when we, er, go on missions," she said tentatively, watching to see if Charlie was listening to their conversation.

"That's Hermione for you," said Ginny, "ever practical. Good idea, though! Let's go." She and Harry led the way out the door at the Leaky Cauldron. The bright and bustling Muggle streets seemed strange in comparison to the almost desolate Diagon Alley. The shop windows on this side of the Leaky Cauldron were much more likely to be filled with ads and mannequins dressed in the latest style than with posters of menacing Death Eaters. Ginny soon scouted out a handful of stores for them to try, and their shopping adventure began.

The first store was a trendy little place in which everyone seemed to find something of interest. Ginny and Hermione were looking at clothes for their hen party that evening, while Ron, Harry, and Charlie were aimlessly looking through the store's vast T-shirt collection. After some time had lapsed, Ginny seemed to remember her responsibility and rushed over to pick out some clothing for Harry. He soon had an armful of clothing to try. As she pushed him towards the fitting room, Harry mumbled to her, "Thanks for your help, Ginny, but I want you to pick out something for yourself, too."

"Oh, um, that's ok, Harry," she replied, blushing a little. "I probably shouldn't spend the money right now, and anyway, today's for you."

"But Ginny, I want you to get something. Your birthday is coming up, too."

"Oh, ok," she said with a gleam in her eye. "Early birthday presents! I'll go see what I can find—you might regret the open offer!" She was about to rush off, but she turned and wagged her finger at him. "Show me everything," she said, pointing at the clothing in his arms.

When they left the store some while later, Harry was in possession of several new pairs of jeans that actually fit him, many new T-shirts fitted to show off his nicely toned upper body, a few jackets and a fitted black shirt for "missions." The other three also had purchased some darker clothing, along with a few fun items. Harry practically drooled to think of Ginny in her new outfit: A low-cut turquoise top and a tight black leather skirt. Even Hermione let loose a bit, buying some low-rise, fashionable jeans and a nice, sparkly tank top. Charlie, meanwhile, looked more bored than ever.

When the group stepped back outside, a bright sun was beating down on them from almost right above.

"Lunch time, yeah?" asked Ron. Ginny and Hermione rolled their eyes at each other, but agreed.

"Okay," said Hermione, "But let's step over here into the alley to shrink our bags down. We'll need our hands free if something bad happens." Covertly, she led them in between the buildings and shrunk down their purchases. "Now, I know a great place we can go to—it's just around the corner."

After lunch in a busy little fish and chips pub, Ginny had one more place on the agenda to stop.

"Okay, Harry, I don't mean to embarrass you, but when I've done laundry with Mum I've seen the state of your knickers, and I know you need some new ones."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks, and looked at her questioningly. "When did you ever help your mother with _my _laundry?"

"That's the least of your concerns; that better have been the only time she's seen the state of your knickers!" said Charlie. He and Ron looked about to explode.

"Oh, grow up, boys," retorted Ginny. "Of course that's the only time I've seen his knickers," she added privately to Harry, "not that I wouldn't like to see them in _another _capacity sometime."

Harry went bright red, growing quite warm around the neck and possibly in certain other areas, while he looked at Ginny, shocked. "Is anyone else extremely uncomfortable about the fact that we are currently discussing my undergarments in the middle of a public street?"

"Don't worry, Harry," said Hermione consolingly, while patting him on the back. "The sooner you give in, the sooner it will be over."

"Well, I'm all for that. Lead on, Ginny."

She smiled, and then led the group to a new store, in which she rapidly picked out a series of boxer shorts, socks, and undershirts for Harry. "See now, that was fast," she said.

Harry had to agree, as they once again stepped out into the sunlight. This time, though, the light seemed a bit darker, as if someday had turned a dimmer switch on the sun. Immediately on edge, Harry put his arms out to stop his friends from moving further out into the crowd.

"Something's wrong here, I want you all to get out of here," Harry said tersely as he scanned their surroundings intently. To the unpracticed eye, the busy street and storefronts looked normal. Muggles milled around chatting on their cell phones, swinging their shopping bags over their arms, and generally paying no heed to the rush around them. Unfortunately, Harry had been too well practiced in figuring out dangerous situations.

"I thought we were over that," said Ginny angrily. "If something is up, we're staying here to help you." Ron and Hermione quickly agreed.

"Honestly, Harry," said Charlie, "I'm supposed to be here to protect _you, _not the other way around."

"Fine, fine, whatever, but don't get yourselves hurt. Be quiet a minute, I need to listen." While the others continued to glance around, Harry tuned everything out, simply feeling the air. His mind became acute to the traces of magic that seemingly existed everywhere, even around the muggles. Before he had the chance to be confused, a whoosh of magic entered the immediate area. Harry understood why he had been uneasy and had traced unusual magic when a group of Death Eaters apparated into the crowd. He and his friends immediately drew their wands and began sending shouted and nonverbal spells in the direction of the Death Eaters, careful not to hit any bystanders. The muggles would have to be sorted out later.

Clearly, the Death Eaters were expecting an attack. They quickly countered the spells sent their way with Dark Magic that meant business. Fortunately for the teens, they had been preparing for something like this nearly every day in and out of DA lessons. As they advanced towards the masked Death Eaters, Harry and Ron threw up strong protective shields while Hermione and Ginny made use of their creativity with some interesting spell-casting. Charlie, meanwhile, attacked a Death Eater one on one, quickly incapacitating him with a confundus charm strong enough to take down a dragon. Charlie then followed standard procedure of the Order, snapping the Death Eater's wand, and binding him against apparation.

The girls had between them managed to take out three more Death Eaters, leaving only two more. Soon, the taunts of Bellatrix Lestrange could be heard among the ruckus. Harry narrowed his eyes and approached her confidently, allowing the others to finish off the last Death Eater.

"So, Bella, to what do we owe this honor?"

"Harry Potter," she sneered, "I knew you'd be here. We followed you all day, couldn't you tell? You are unworthy of the respect given to you, and it is time I finished you off."

"It's time _you _finished me off? I thought that was a job for your master," he replied scathingly.

Bellatrix hesitated a moment, and then shrieked, "Anyone who kills you will be rewarded greatly by the Dark Lord! Only the most committed of his followers would dare try it." She did not sound very confident in this statement, however, and Harry began to doubt whether she had support in this attack.

"Aha, so perhaps Voldy does not know of your attack today? Bold move, Bella. Risky, though. Defeat me, and you could be rewarded beyond all others. Be defeated by me, and you will probably lose face even more so than you have already. I'm curious why you chose today, though, as there are only a few of us present. Wouldn't it have been more profitable to come in blazing on Saturday, unbeknownst to a wedding party full of high-ranking officials, blood traitors, members of the Order of the Phoenix, oh, and me of course...?"

"Fool! I, at least, am smart enough to realize that you will all have been expecting that! If I were to kill you now, it would spare my master a good deal of headache and the possibility of losing many more of his followers in a massive attack. Again, rewards, rewards, rewards!"

"Uh-huh. Well, unfortunately you failed to contemplate _my _victory today. Sorry to disappoint you!" With the small talk effectively ended, Harry and Bellatrix engaged in a duel. Bellatrix soon looked even more uncomfortable than ever, as Harry threw off her every attempt to take him down. He, meanwhile, was having some success with well chosen disabling charms. The Death Eater quickly became tired with the sparring, of which she was clearly on the losing side, and advanced upon Harry to deal him pain he could not avoid. To her surprise, Harry was not much affected by her cruciatus curse, as he barely writhed in pain.

After his quick recovery, she gasped. "How could this be?" she shrieked.

"Well, Bella, once again your lot has been overcome by seemingly simple tricks that are quite often overlooked. Even the simplest of spells can pack a punch if said with the right emphasis…and by someone like myself. You should be scared, Bellatrix, and all the rest of your pals, because I am coming after you, and so are my friends, the DA, and the Order of the Phoenix." As she cowered underneath his seemingly towering form, he said one last spell to completely disable her, and snapped her wand in two.


	8. Chapter 8: The Ministry of Magic

I do NOT own HP or any other characters from the story. They are entirely JK Rowling's genius and I am simply borrowing them.

**Chapter Eight: The Ministry of Magic**

Harry finally glanced around the scene to find himself in the company of many more wizards than he had thought. Apparently the Ministry of Magic had seen fit to arrive at some point during the small battle. Officials were gathering up the Death Eaters they had incapacitated, and trying to remove Harry's friends from the scene so they could perform memory charms on the nearby muggles. Tonks, who was part of the Auror contingency sent by the Ministry, rushed up to Harry.

"Well done, Harry, well done. How did you know they were here? Oh, never mind, you can answer that later…we need to get you lot out of here so we can take care of the muggles…" she placed a hand on his back and pulled him over to his friends, who seemed unharmed after taking down six adult Death Eaters.

Once he arrived, a Ministry official handed them a portkey. A few seconds later the familiar behind-the-naval tug pulled them into the Ministry's Atrium. A small wizard in security robes led them up the atrium, past the restored Fountain of the Magical Brethren, and to the security desk. After weighing in their wands, the guard led them to the golden-gated lifts and punched in the button for the first floor. To Harry's surprise, they bypassed every floor on the way up to the first, and he wondered if this was some sort of express lift. When the gates opened, he realized that it must have been a special VIP lift that took its riders directly to the offices of the Minister and his advisers.

All five of their party had to gawk at the opulence of the offices they passed as they walked through to the very last one. They even passed a medium-sized office with plenty of magical windows (for they were actually underground) and a brass nameplate on the door saying "Percival Weasley, Junior Assistant to the Minister of Magic." The group stared resolutely past this one, in which they could clearly see the brother who had turned his back on their family ensconced behind a large, gleaming desk piled high with paperwork. Percy, too, seemed to become very engrossed with his quill as his family members and their friends walked by. Just a little ways down the center hall from this one came the largest office of all. This door announced "Rufus Scrimgeour, Minister of Magic."

As the security wizard led them directly to this door, they all looked at each other in amazement at the thought that they were actually being taken to the office of the Minister. _Are we in that much trouble? _thought Hermione, panicked. _Oh, wonderful, here we go again, _thought Harry. Meanwhile, all the Weasleys were too bothered by seeing their brother Percy to be much troubled by the fact that they were about to enter the office of the Minister of Magic.

As they walked into the office, Rufus Scrimgeour stood up from behind his large, mahogany desk, which was, in comparison to Percy's, spotless. He seemed to have been anticipating them, and beckoned them to take the seats in front of his desk. He waved their guide out the door, and then turned gravely to the young group before him.

"I understand you five were attacked by a group of Death Eaters on the muggle streets of London earlier this afternoon. Would you mind telling me exactly what happened?"

Though they were all confused as to why the Minister of Magic was the one questioning them about the incident, they all nodded to Hermione to explain.

"Well, Minister, we were just doing some clothes shopping when we stepped outside, and the sun seemed a bit duller, somehow, and Harry got nervous. He said he felt something was wrong, and asked us to leave, but we refused, and…"

At this point, the Minister stood up again and said, "Excuse me for interrupting, Miss --?"

"Granger," she replied.

"Yes, Miss Granger. I think I might just nip out and get somebody in here to take this down, if you don't mind waiting just a moment." With this statement, Scrimgeour flitted out of the room, leaving the teenagers and Charlie alone together.

Harry was suspicious. "Don't you think he would've had that ready to go, as they seem to have been expecting us?"

"That is pretty fishy," said Ginny. "But, Harry, now he's gone, I have a question for you. Just how did you know what was going to happen out there? You got all quiet and we didn't know what was going on, and then all of a sudden these Death Eaters started popping in. Then when you fought with Bellatrix one-on-one you seemed to grow about two feet and you got kind of scary looking…Why?"

"I don't think I'd better answer that question right now, this room might be bugged. Scrimgeour probably wanted us to start talking while he was gone…" replied Harry. "Let's just sit here, quietly. Hermione, don't mention what Ginny just said, in case they didn't hear it."

A few minutes later, the Minister came back into the room with none other than Percy Weasley to take notes for him. When his brothers, sister, and Harry glared at him, he turned pink. He looked to Hermione with a bit of an appeal, but when she glanced coolly away, he just sat down behind them and readied to take notes.

"Now," said the Minister, "please begin again, Miss Granger." He looked agitated, and Harry thought correctly that it was probably because they had cut their conversation short while he was out of the room.

"Well, like I said before, we were just shopping in Muggle London when Harry sensed trouble. He asked us to leave, because he anticipated an attack, but we refused. Sure enough, six Death Eaters appeared and we began to fight them."

"Are you aware of the dangers of magical battle amongst such a large crowd of muggles?" asked Scrimgeour sternly. "Why didn't you all simply get away and notify the proper authorities?"

"We were careful not to hit any muggles, and we diverted the attention of the Death Eaters away from them. If we had left, the Death Eaters would have begun killing muggles, and that is much harder to cover up than a battle with no fatalities. Waiting for the Ministry would have been a poor decision," stated Hermione firmly. Inwardly, Harry cheered for her.

"All right, fine," said the Minister grudgingly, "go on."

Hermione continued, "Charlie managed to defeat one of them, and bound him up for the Ministry to take care of later, while the four of us managed to do likewise with three others. Then, Harry found their ringleader, Bellatrix Lestrange, and dueled her one-on-one, leaving us to handle the last Death Eater."

"I see," said the Minister. "Is there anything else you would like to tell me?"

"That's all that happened, so no," said Hermione politely.

"Very well," conceded Scrimgeour, annoyed. "All of you may step into the hall, except Mr. Potter."

Harry had been expecting this, so he nodded to his friends to leave. They stood up and exited the room with Percy, careful to avoid contact with him. They gathered right outside the door as it closed in Harry and the Minister.

"Mr. Potter, I am sure you are aware that your taking care of this little incident as an underage wizard puts me in a difficult place. As you know, there are laws against a person such as yourself using magic outside of school, and since you have already broken these laws on several occasions, further action might need to be taken."

"Oh, honestly, Minister, do you really think those laws should apply as they used to in these times of war?" asked Harry. "Do you expect young wizards to not defend themselves or their family and friends just because they ought not to use their wands yet?"

"Well, many people do think so, of course. There is the fact that you were in the company of three adult wizards who could have done the spell-casting," the Minister stated matter-of-factly.

"What, you expect two experienced fighters like Ginny and I to just sit by while our friends have to face the danger? Working together is the best way to attack enemies like these."

"Ah, Harry, you've hit it exactly—working together. Wouldn't you say that it was time that _we_, that is, the Ministry and yourself, began working together?"

_I was afraid of this, _thought Harry. Aloud, Harry said, "So tell me again, what exactly do you mean by 'working together?'"

"Well, Harry, I think a little give and take might be in order between the two of us, that is, between yourself and the Ministry. For example, I grant you and your Miss Weasley pardon for performing underage magic in this little 'battle,' and you give the Ministry some support, at least verbally if not physically," explained the Minister.

"I see," said Harry thoughtfully, as if he had never heard this idea before. "Before I give my consent to anything, though, I want a few things besides a pardon for Ginny and I. I'm sure you understand that having my support would be a very choice plum for the Ministry, so I think it only fair to have a few more things in exchange."

"Okay, I'm willing to listen to what you have to say, Harry," said Scrimgeour. "What is it you would like?"

"First, I would like underage wizards to be allowed to perform magic outside of school for the duration of the war. It could be necessary for them to defend themselves or their families, especially if they are not back at Hogwarts or if they are muggles. Second, and I've mentioned this one before, I want Stan Shunpike and all other innocent people to be released. Third, I would like you to fire Delores Umbridge and revoke all legislation she has recently put through about werewolves and other magical creatures. Finally, you allow myself, my friends, and a group known as the Order of the Phoenix to act as advisers to the Ministry on the war. Remember, in exchange for all of this you have my public support and you are also privy to new information that we have in our hands, which may be of help to you."

"That's quite a lot, Harry. I understand allowing underage magic, and I do agree to release our innocent prisoners. I also see the value of having you lot, this Order of the Phoenix, helping us. However, your third request, about firing Ms. Umbridge and revoking her laws confuses me."

"Well, Minister, I have quite good reasons for my request. During her time at Hogwarts, she insisted that we learn no practical magic in Defense, because at the time the Ministry was adamantly denying Voldemort's return. We knew how important Defense was, so we were forced to form a secret organization to practice it. When she found out about it, she did everything in her power to dissolve that group. Plus, she committed numerous other atrocities which I'm sure you've heard about, not the least of which was 'sacking' Dumbledore and trying to take over herself." Harry's face took on a look of disgust at this thought, but then went on, "She forced many students in detention to use a banned blood quill as punishment, and if you want proof, just look at the back of my hand." Here he pushed his hand out for the Minister to see, clearly etched there, 'I will not tell lies.' Scrimgeour gasped at the sight.

"I see," he said coolly. "Anything else?"

"Yes," replied Harry. "Beyond my objections to her behavior while at Hogwarts are my objections to her legislation against werewolves and other magical creatures such as centaurs and merpeople. This legislation is doing nothing but alienating potential allies. I have a friend who is a werewolf, a good werewolf who has spent his whole life only trying to live decently, to earn an honest living and to isolate himself once a month for fear of subjecting others to his fate. Unfortunately, he has not been able to live decently because of the legislation that makes it impossible for him to work. He recently went underground with other werewolves and tried to convince more of them to come to our side. He was unable to owing to the fact that none of them could get jobs or live normally even if they were good people. Voldemort has offered them much more appealing things to them, whether he intends to follow through or not. We need to offer them something better if we are to ever have a hope of gaining their trust and support."

"I see your point, Harry, but even if we were to revoke the laws, how are we to keep the public from panicking when werewolves are out and about?"

"Tell them that having more of them out in useful capacities will keep more of them happy and not terrorizing the world. Oh, and you'll have my name to add to it, of course. I'll vouch for it," said Harry.

"All right, Harry, consider it done. Let's get Percy back in here to write the terms for us, and we'll shake on it," said the Minister, who got up and brought Percy back into the room. A moment later, he began dictating a list for Percy.

"Mr. Harry Potter agrees to give full backing to the Ministry of Magic and pledges to give the Ministry useful information which will be used in cooperation with the Order of the Phoenix. In return, the Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, grants pardon to Mr. Potter and Miss Ginevra Weasley for their use of underage magic on this day in the defeat of six Death Eaters. The Ministry also grants leave to all underage witches and wizards to perform magic outside of school for the purpose of defense of themselves and their families during this war. Mr. Stan Shunpike and all prisoners determined to be innocent shall be released with apology, and Ms. Delores Umbridge will be fired from the Ministry on the grounds of her illegal use of a blood quill as punishment while at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Her legislation concerning magical creatures will be revoked, and werewolves allowed to take jobs. Mr. Potter will publicly give his support on this matter." When Percy had finished taking this down, Harry and Scrimgeour signed the sheet and shook hands to seal the deal. Percy then left the room to get back to his work.

"Well done, Harry," said Scrimgeour companionably, sitting back in his chair after Percy had left. "You wrangled quite a bit out of me, young man!"

Harry just shrugged. "So when would you like to set up a press conference, Minister? I'd say it is time to get the ball rolling."

"Ah, just what I was hoping you'd say. What about we call a conference for the morning, say around nine o'clock?"

"That should work, but let me just check with the Weasleys before we call the media. As you may have heard, they're having a wedding at the Burrow on Saturday, so she might have a few things for us to do tomorrow. I'll owl just as soon as we get back," said Harry.

"Very well, that sounds excellent, and I will be expecting your owl," replied the Minister, standing up to escort Harry to the door.

Once Harry had exited the office, he found his friends sitting against a wall down the hallway, talking animatedly. When he walked out, though, they turned silent and stared at him questioningly.

"I'll tell you when we get back to the Burrow," he said to head off their inquiries. "Let's get out of here."

Author's Note:

I hope this part with the Minister doesn't seem too far-fetched. I just think that maybe Scrimgeour is getting desperate enough to listen to what Harry has to say. And as they say, "You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours." Both the Ministry and Harry have a lot to gain by cooperating. Let me know what you think! Thanks for the reviews so far, too. 


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